Cardiac ventriculography is the radiographic examination of a ventricle of the heart that involves injection of an x-ray contrast agent, usually iodinated contrast dye, into the heart's ventricle(s), typically the left ventricle. This iodinated contrast material can be traced through the heart using special cameras or scanners thereby enabling studies of the pumping function of the heart.
However, the left ventricle may be a particularly difficult chamber of the heart to obtain x-ray imaging. Presently, so-called pigtail catheters are used, being threaded retrogradely through the aorta, around the aortic arch, and through the aortic valve until the distal tip of the catheter resides in the ventricle. Then, with the patient under an x-ray machine such as a fluoroscope, a bolus of x-ray contrast fluid is injected through the catheter at a high pressure (500-900 psi) into the ventricle, to quickly fill the ventricle with x-ray contrast media. For a moment, details of the heart structure and action become visible by x-ray imaging, until the contrast media is pumped out of the ventricle.
Pigtail catheters used in cardiac ventriculography are produced by numerous medical supply companies and are available in a range of lengths and sizes to meet different needs. Currently pigtail catheters are designed as either “straight” with no angle or “angled” with angulations of 145 and 155 degrees. However, with the radial approach the angle of the aorta is not favorable for these catheters and they may be more difficult to insert into the left ventricle compared to the femoral approach. Thus, there has developed a need for a catheter that is so dimensioned as to facilitate accessing the left ventricle from an arm of a patient.